Blog
On the occasion of the United States National Day of Prayer, the town of Easton, MD had a prayer service near the SAT-7 USA office. We prayed for government leaders, educational professionals, emergency response personnel, community leaders, and for our nation as a whole.
The prayer service was a time of reflection for the community. Attendees read Scripture, sang hymns and patriotic songs, and heard a musical performance by a local children’s group.
The prayers reflected a desire for families to honor God, be safe, and be prosperous. Instead of trying to achieve these things on our own, at least for one day, we came together and asked God to guide our nation’s leaders. The prayer service was a much needed break from the busy pace of life that, even in a small town like Easton, creates a to-do list that can keep me working late into the night. It reminded me that prayer life usually involves more talking and making requests than listening and learning, while it should be the other way around.
Don’t forget the International SAT-7 Day of Prayer to be held on November 4, 2012! As the date draws near, look for details on how you can get involved in praying for SAT-7 viewers around the world.
What are we broadcasting, and who sees it?
If you tune in to SAT-7 programming, you will hear Arabic, Farsi and Turkish speakers. At SAT-7, we believe that people of the Middle East and North Africa should have the opportunity to hear God’s message in their native languages. This makes for a magnanimous task, drawing together talented staff from all over the world. They produce quality programming that is available not only in the Middle East and North Africa, but also worldwide via live web streaming. Thanks to the generous support of donors, the programming is also free for our viewers.
Children’s programs take on creative forms in cartoons, puppet shows, sing-alongs, bedtime storytelling, and educational shows. Teen programs feature variety segments that address problems common to teens, and allow viewers to call in with questions or comments. Adults tune in to see sermons, worship services, dramas, comedies, current affairs talk shows, expert debates on controversial topics, and movies.
If you are not an Arabic, Farsi, or Turkish speaker, you may still be wondering what all this looks like on screen. With that in mind, we have recently been sharing individual video clips to our email subscribers and on the SAT-7 USA website. Now, you can browse a variety of programs at your leisure. Watch clips from our programs, as they were originally aired, with added English subtitles. Just visit our channel page on YouTube© by clicking on the link or picture below!
What does it take to make the front page nowadays, and why is it newsworthy? The more money at stake, the higher the death toll, the more deplorable the scandal, the closer it gets to the front page. There are good reasons for this. Oil prices affect the quality of life of millions of people. Media coverage of natural disasters and human rights abuses raises awareness and solicits aid. Uncovering scandals and scrutinizing popular figures reinforce social mores and maintain some semblance of ethical order for taxpayers.
On the flip side, if catastrophe is now the status quo for front page news, what does this mean for the newsworthiness of positive developments? Either good news is not as common as bad news, or media gatekeepers feel it is not as interesting to readers. SAT-7 has been bringing good news to and from the region for years, and this post concludes with good news from Iraq.
In April 2008, while living in Cairo, I was reading a local Arabic newspaper when I came across a fascinating story. Entitled “Officer Refuses Bribe from Flour Trafficker in Cairo,” the article in al-Masry al-Yom hailed a local police officer for turning down a bribe of 1,700 L.E. (Egyptian pounds) in cash and a brand new cell phone. The officer apprehended the suspects, who had been driving a truck loaded with subsidized flour, without accepting the money or the phone. Police corruption, especially bribery, is so commonplace in Egypt that it is newsworthy for a police officer to do his job and turn down a bribe. While I was curious to see this indirect confirmation of ubiquitous police corruption, the story did not make the front page. On the same day, the feature article on the front page of al-Masry al-Yom was sadly ironic. It detailed the crisis of a worldwide increase in food prices and the looming threat of starvation for many families.
Today, Iraqi newspapers feature a variety of public concerns. Just a few of the recurring themes in front page headlines are sectarian politics, deadly insurgent attacks, oil and gas bids, and prisoner deals. This week, online Iraqi news source Azzaman featured a positive development in assuaging Baghdad’s housing crisis, as new housing projects are in the works. But is the dearth of encouraging articles a realistic sign of the times or an ongoing journalistic tendency?
Online Iraqi News Source "Azzaman"
In light of what is making headlines in Iraq, I must share a great story that should be making headlines in Iraq. Last Sunday, the SAT-7 ARABIC show From Me to You hosted a special LIVE episode from the town of Erbil, Iraq. Presenters Jamie, Joyce and Rawad took calls from viewers, led the LIVE audience in worship, and invited testimony from show guests.
Viewers called in from all over the country—Baghdad, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah—to wish the team a pleasant visit in Iraq. Jamie also interviewed a guest who shared how she came to Christ. The guest said she attended church and learned about Jesus until she decided to give her life to Him. She said about her salvation story, “Of course, it’s a simple experience but, for me, it is a magnificent one.”
On the Set of "From Me to You"
A guest performer on the show, Katherine, sang praise songs for the audience in both Arabic and Kurdish languages. Arabic is one official language in Iraq, and Kurdish is the official language in Kurdish regions, which includes Erbil. Iraqis of Kurdish ethnic origins comprise about 20% of the country’s total population.
Next month, SAT-7 will launch a new show supporting and encouraging the minority community of Christians in Iraq. The show will be called Allo Iraq. It will follow a similar format to From Me to You, but will respond to relevant social issues in Iraq with Iraqi presenters Lina and Ehsan. The recent special LIVE episode of From Me to You and the upcoming premiere of Allo Iraq are designed to attract a teen audience and are part of an increased SAT-7 focus on Iraq.
For more on SAT-7 in Iraq, look for upcoming articles in What’s New at sat7usa.org.
It was only by chance that Mina* caught a glimpse of a SAT-7 program on TV. In fact, she doesn’t even own a TV or know what email is. Mina was visiting a friend in Iran who was watching SAT-7 and—as normal social protocol could predict—Mina joined in watching. At the time, Mina was suffering from depression that followed a serious medical procedure. Doubtless the taxing health problems and psychological stress made this middle-aged woman dream of a more sublime existence.
A few days before the New Year, Mina had unusual dreams in which Jesus appeared to her. Jesus told Mina that He needed her to help him by making dough from flour. Then, Jesus disappeared and a man saying he was a helper of Jesus told Mina that there is too much dough…half the world is filled with dough and waiting for Jesus to make bread with them. Like most dreams, the vision was an ephemeral experience, but this one was not easily forgotten throughout the day. Mina awoke and responded to the suggestions in her dreams by seeking more knowledge about Jesus. She later contacted SAT-7 to share her story. In tears, she said that she is healed of her depression and that she loves Jesus with all her heart.
Mina’s faith is exceptional! Personally, I have a tendency to struggle with the intangible. A Bible can be held and passed around and quoted, but a vision or dream? I pit the surreal against the scientific because my ability to explain events in my life makes me feel in control, and superior to other forces at work. I tell myself a strange dream means that maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that cookie dough or taken melatonin before bed. Not all dreams are necessarily God-inspired, and maybe they are just a sleepy-time manifestation of ideas that have been long-forming in the subconscious. But at the same time, this woman’s dream had a productive function—she responded to Jesus! Am I missing out on the miraculous in my own life?
Not being a theologian, I can’t verify to anyone that her dream was definitely a manifestation of God’s will. But perhaps the more important point is the spiritual change the dream encouraged in Mina’s life by revealing God and drawing her closer to Him. In the Old Testament, dreams and visions were not an uncommon way for God to express Himself. He also says in the Bible that in the end days, these experiences will be an integral part of spiritual life:
“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
(Acts 2:17)
*name has been changed for privacy
1 John 1:3 in Farsi
When I was a kid, my father worked night shifts and overtime hours at a warehouse so that he and my mother could put on a big Christmas celebration for me and my brother at home. We would decorate a tree and on Christmas morning, open presents and have breakfast together before going to church. One year, I even woke up to find a go-kart parked in our living room with a big bow on it. During Easter another year, my mother took me and my brother to buy pet ducks. Christmas and Easter for our family meant having fun spending time together and remembering Christ’s life and sacrifice, and they constitute some of my happiest childhood memories.
It is hard for me to imagine life any differently, but not everyone experiences Christian holidays in commercial comfort with family and friends. Recently, I had the privilege of celebrating the Iranian New Year with colleagues from SAT-7 PARS. After the live broadcast of a special New Year’s episode, I asked Sara Afshari, the Executive Director of SAT-7 PARS, if there was the same level of excitement surrounding holidays like Christmas and Easter in Iran. Sara’s holiday memories are a lot different from mine. She told me “We used to struggle every year, every Christmas in Iran because they [the authorities] used to close our church. They used to arrest some people. And then you [would] have to go and try to release them. It was more struggle than celebration.” Sara described it as an exhausting experience to investigate freeing a friend from prison without knowing where to go or who to talk to first.
Christmas and Easter are clearly important to many Iranian believers, because they venture out to church gatherings in spite of great risk. But how can anyone celebrate a holiday with so much anxiety? The Apostle Paul was able to rejoice when he was being persecuted in chains—I can only admire the faith of Christians who are doing the same today.
(To learn more about the Iranian New Year celebration, click here.)
"Happy Norouz" - Iranian New Year Decoration
March 8th marked International Women’s Day, which raises the question: What topics are preoccupying women in the Middle East and North Africa?
I was literally on the edge of my seat in a café in East Jerusalem while a friend told me about her prenuptial agreement. It included a clause guaranteeing her the freedom to have a career outside the home if she chose to do so. The inclusion of this clause implied a doubt that her desire to work would be honored. She and her husband had good jobs, started a family with two beautiful children, and seemed put-together. However, she mentioned to me that she sometimes considered getting divorced and going back to her parents because she wasn’t always satisfied with her life. She told me about her dreams of moving to Canada so that her children could have a better future, and asked questions about getting them involved in extracurricular activities so they would be well-rounded.
I sensed that my friend was not happy. I sensed that she had goals and dreams, but that there were things in her life holding her back from feeling fulfilled. It affected me because she is a very driven person and I felt a connection with her outlook on personal achievement.
Years later, I am watching a powerful message in the way women on SAT-7 programs talk about their lives. Early marriage, access to education, sexual harassment, female circumcision, domestic violence—women on SAT-7 are discussing controversial issues that affect their quality of life. SAT-7 ARABIC show Nuqta ‘ala al-Satr dedicated a whole episode to a debate with opposing viewpoints on early marriage.
Another show, Sanaat al-Salam, interviewed Hoda, an NGO worker whose organization focuses on educational, vocational, and spiritual wellness for women. Her comments drive home perhaps the best way to biblically address women’s challenges. While many of the organization’s students express worries about physical needs like securing a house to live in and meeting a good spouse, Hoda points out that only the presence of God can fulfill any person’s sense of longing and need for love. Hoda is happy that they can meet both real physical needs and spiritual needs, but emphasizes the importance of spiritual and emotional fulfillment.
No woman can expect to find solutions to all the controversial issues mentioned above, at least not in this lifetime. I personally don’t expect to acquire the seemingly perfect life of the woman in Proverbs 31. But in the meantime, I and other women can be comforted by the knowledge that Christ’s presence will be enough.
Mrs. Hoda Youakim
The City of the Dead is a four-mile stretch of tombs and mausoleums in Cairo, Egypt. Tens of thousands of people live in the tombs, many without electricity or running water. It is a home for many who would otherwise be homeless. When I walked through The City of the Dead in December 2006, I was admiring some of the architecture and elaborate artwork dedicated to honoring the memories of family and loved ones. I was contrasting this with the smaller headstones set on grassy expanses behind churches in my hometown, adorned with flowers on the holidays. When I was in Jerusalem the previous spring, I had seen headstones sprinkled with rocks, placed strategically on the Mt. of Olives in hopes that those buried would be the first to greet the Messiah at His coming. Memorializing death seemed to tell as much about the living as it did about the dead.
At some point, a man approached me and said I had to leave because it was getting dark and tourists were not allowed in the neighborhood after dusk. It suddenly occurred to me that snapping pictures of families’ homes in a slum was probably offensive. Since many residents do not own or have permits to live in the gravesites their residence is extralegal and leaves them unsure about the future. Nonetheless, they have adapted their surroundings to fit their needs, using tombstones as desks or tables, running wires for electricity. In a country where the economy is heavily driven by tourism I wondered how often the financially underprivileged got left out and marginalized by society. Fortunately, for SAT-7, this neighborhood is just as reachable with our programming as any other.
According to the Executive Director of SAT-7 Studios in Egypt, a satellite dish is a common appliance for many of the tomb-houses in The City of the Dead. He says: “[It’s] strange because people actually, literally, live in the graveyards because they don’t have anywhere to live. But at the same time, they live in a graveyard and they have a satellite dish and a television because it’s free. And maybe it’s the only fun they can have…. So [they] get SAT-7 free. It would have been very hard to find these people, but through satellite, you can go right into their bedroom and reach them with the Gospel. So I think it’s a blessing and I feel God is blessing me and the staff with seeing the results.”
A Home in The City of the Dead
Click below to see the clip that got the most hits on SAT-7 ARABIC on YouTube!
SAT-7® has an online presence using Facebook®, Twitter®, YouTube®, and its various channel websites. The SAT-7 ARABIC Channel on YouTube has had over 2.6 million hits! SAT-7 strives to create programming that addresses audience needs, so we are asking: What’s most popular? How are people responding?
The clip with the most hits is a flash mob performance at City Mall in Beirut, Lebanon, aired by SAT-7. Singers performed the song “Jesus is Risen” on Easter, while many bystanders took video with their cell phones. At the time of this writing, the clip has 298,727 views, 1,428 likes, and over 500 comments! We also discovered that having an online presence has broadened our audience to more than just the Middle East and North Africa. Online viewers from Serbia, Romania, Canada, Thailand, and other places all over the world have interacted with the video. One viewer commented “I am [an] Orthodox Christian. When I saw this video for [the] first time, since then until every time I see, I feel something inside of my chest I can’t explain…May God bless and protect all Christians in the World to the right way. Greetings from Macedonia!”
Overall, the YouTube clips with the most views are musical performances and worship services. I asked the Executive Director of SAT-7 Studios in Egypt, which in addition to SAT-7 Studios in Beirut produces SAT-7 ARABIC programming, if he had seen a similar trend in television viewership. He said “Yes, and we have a good reason why that is. During turmoil, people are very depressed and they really want to find hope. And in music and worship, we praise our God and we really enjoy that. We receive a sense of faith and hope through worship. That’s the difference between secular music and Christian music. We have a real hope.”
Egypt’s recent soccer tragedy in #BorSaid reminded me of the power of crowd behavior, although my experiences have been quite different.
It was February 2008 when in Ghana, Egypt’s team had just won the African Cup in a soccer match against Cameroon. Along the cab ride home from a friend’s place in Zamalek, Cairo, I could hear the roar of thousands of people cheering, drums beating, whistles blowing, cars all honking to the same beat, and cracking noises I couldn’t identify. Hoards of people jammed the streets, blocking traffic. When cabs honked or flashed their lights in frustration, it just fed the crowd’s excitement. Kids and teenagers packed the roofs of moving cabs and pickup truck beds. Some were waving Egyptian flags and had face paint, and one guy was blowing fire out of an aerosol can.
After getting into my seventh floor apartment, I looked out the window to watch the excitement in the street. Something else caught my eye. It was my neighbors who lived on the rooftop of the shorter building opposite me. The woman was turning in her bed, which was under the cover of a makeshift roof with no walls. It was open to the weather, the scrutiny of anyone on a higher floor nearby, and on that night the wildly boisterous celebrations that would definitely keep her awake. There was a contrast between the comfort of my apartment (recently renovated office-turned-apartment with high ceilings) and the obvious discomfort of hers. Despite the city’s celebrations, I went to bed that night with mixed feelings.
I wondered about all my ‘neighbors,’ who I hardly knew. Growing up in church, I’ve heard “Love thy neighbor” for years (Mark 12:31). I consider how to love my coworkers and friends as neighbors, but how often have I reached out to my literal neighbors in big cities? It is interesting how I’ve gotten caught up in the crowd and forgotten about some of my neighbors and their needs over the years. I think the beauty of SAT-7’s ministry is that through technology, every family with a television or computer in the Middle East becomes a neighbor. It is an invitation for each person to experience the love of God’s family. It is also an exhortation for me as a Christian to look around and be more inclusive loving neighbors.
African Cup 2008
How is Christianity able to take shape in so many different contexts and cultures? In Egypt, I was surprised to learn that each person’s ID card has his or her religion listed just like birth date and address. This is typically the same religion as the person’s father… religion is inherited/assigned. When I signed my apartment lease, both the owner and I had to list our religions in the official document. Spiritual background has a semi-public life in Egypt. That raises a lot of questions for me. To what extent can one perceive religion as a culture or upbringing, and how does that relate to salvation as a personal relationship with Christ?
There are also voluntary ways that people express their faith. Perhaps a familiar and obvious way to do this is for men and women alike to wear a cross necklace. I once visited a squatter community by the name of Manshiet Nasser on the outskirts of Cairo, total population about 700,000. On a hilltop is a cave church, an expansive outdoor church with tall Arabic Bible verses carved into rock walls.
Walking around, I encountered a woman carrying a toddler who was screaming and crying. We got to talking and she was excited to announce that the 2-year-old was crying because he just got a tattoo of a cross on his hand. Many Coptic Christians get a small tattoo of a cross on the wrist or hand. On another occasion in a different neighborhood, I was walking down a dusty alley when I saw a man in the process of getting a tattoo. He was getting a tattoo of an image of Jesus on his arm out in the open air as people passed by.
These Christians live in such a way that every person who meets them will know they are children of God. God wants His truth to be a light that shines in the darkness and frees people (2 Corinthians 4:6). As part of the same Church, SAT-7 seeks to shine a light in the darkness in every way possible. Our goal is to come alongside the Christian community throughout the Arab world as encouragers and supporters in faith, serving the entire community.
The Cave Church
Andrew White
Faith Under Fire: What the Middle East conflict has taught me about God
Oxford: Monarch Books, 2011
pp. 1-160. $9.99 Kindle edition.
Faith Under Fire is a personal account of Andrew White’s experiences as the vicar at St. George’s Church in Baghdad, Iraq. It is an inspirational testimony of Andrew White, whose faith and knowledge of God has grown during his time there. His story is a frank and exciting read for anyone interested in the inner workings of a church facing persecution, the effects of conflicts in Iraq on daily lifestyle, or a bold exhortation for Christians to follow and trust God come what may.
Vicar White’s main argument in Faith Under Fire is that God’s presence is strong at work in Iraq, both despite and because of the challenges of living amidst violent persecution. His eyewitness account and relationships with local Iraqis build a story that reinforces his faith in God’s power.
As a doctor, Vicar White’s medical background allows him to recognize the immediate physical needs of his congregation when he opens a clinic in St. George’s Church. Mentors are another strong influence in Vicar White’s life. Several times, he quotes the Archbishop of Canterbury in what had become a life motto for him: “Don’t take care, take risks.” (15) By far, the most influential source in Vicar White’s life and writing is the Bible. When he is kidnapped, or a child dies despite much prayer, or he sees wanted posters with his picture all over the city, Vicar White goes back to Scripture to seek God’s peace and answers.
The organization of the book is very deliberate and reveals the author’s values. Chapters 1 and 2 are devoted to demonstrating Vicar White’s journey, from medical and theological training to getting married, and a great shift in the story when he discovers he is very ill. This segment will later show the reader how God’s path for Vicar White was preparing him precisely for his future in Baghdad. While many readers might expect the book to be consumed with a description of murders and kidnappings, these aspects only come out from Chapter 4 onward. Even at that point, Vicar White’s description of events includes an overarching focus on the strength of believers at St. George’s Church and God’s faithfulness amidst tragedy.
The remainder of the book is interspersed with stories connected to its main themes. The most recurrent theme, evident in the title, is the pervasiveness of fire or heat. It often appears in the book as the threat of violent persecution, but at other times is the literal heat in Iraq’s climate that ironically improves the author’s medical condition. It appears in yet a different context when the author points to the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as the first appearance of Christ on earth. (132) Coping with mortality is also a major theme, demonstrated both through Vicar White’s personal illness and the murders of parishioners. Manifestations of the supernatural are a fascinating theme that comes up in the form of miracles, premonitions in dreams, and the physical presence of images like wheels in the air.
By Chapter 11, Vicar White presents a call to action for readers to support St. George’s Church. He stresses the urgency of the ongoing crisis in Iraq and quotes a church member saying, “Don’t the other Christians in the world care about us?” This urgency is felt strongly in an Epilogue that describes the massacre at Our Lady of Deliverance that took place in 2010. (130) The Conclusion engages the book of Habbakuk, in which Habbakuk looks on the destruction of his country and wonders how God can let it happen. In a final statement that summarizes Vicar White’s experience in Baghdad, he says “The heat of the fire is intense here, but so is the joy of the Lord.” (159)
Overall, Faith Under Fire is a phenomenal account of trusting God amidst a lifestyle of constant crisis. The Scripture Vicar White presents in the book goes far beyond a feel-good discussion of Christianity and leads the reader through a series of hard life lessons that all people face, presenting how to work through them spiritually. Vicar White’s book left me feeling challenged and inspired to broaden my perception of God’s capability and tune my ears more to His voice and direction in my life. It was convicting to read how Vicar White sacrificed his personal privacy, the comforts of his homeland and time with his family to give all he had to God’s call in his life. In the same vein, it was convicting to read about Iraqis sacrificing their lives to declare their faith in the Gospel.
I was disappointed that Vicar White did not dwell more on his parishioners. He defines them so much by the violence and persecution that constrains them, but does not clearly show the more personal side of their competencies outside of the church building. When I first picked up the book, I was hoping to learn more about Iraqis’ family and social lives, professional goals, personal hopes and accomplishments. It is possible that the vicar of such a huge congregation, especially in such a tight security environment, would have limited access to in-depth conversation or interviews with every single parishioner.
While Vicar White devotes much time to praising the faith and strength of his parishioners, there are a few points in the book where he seems to privilege his culture as superior and make broad generalizations. In one example, he refers to the difficulties of working with “disorganized Arab culture.” (154) Instead of recognizing competing values such as expediency versus thoroughness or single policy versus situational consensus, he makes a value judgment patronizing how Iraqis do business. His statement also ignores the fact that Iraq is partly non-Arab (Kurdish), and that Arabs in different countries have unique cultures. I do not think that Vicar White consciously implies any of the above, but his words could have the unintended effect of harming his credibility with readers that have ties to the region.
These points, while distracting in the text, are not representative of the entire book. In fact, they deviate from an overwhelmingly warm depiction of Iraqi Christians, as well as a hope and dedication to a better future for their country.
Melissa Brown, SAT-7 Blogger
Leaving didn’t seem real until I walked through airport security and realized I had no cell phone and no friends where I was headed. During my freshman year of college at Liberty University, I spent a lot of time praying about where my life was headed. At 18 years old, I committed to three years in Egypt (never having been there) where I would receive a B.A. in Middle East Studies from The American University in Cairo. There were many times during those three years that I would wake up in the morning and wonder, what on earth am I doing here? The girl that got off the plane alone in Cairo that first year had a lot of fears and misgivings about how the world works, and I can look back and say that I would do it all again to become the person that I am today. Starting over in a new country was one of many decisions that God used to broaden my perception of the world and strengthen my faith as a Christian.
While I was living in Cairo, I worked part-time as an English teacher. Working with a U.S. professional and fellow church member, I also helped to start Maadi Community Church’s first downtown Bible study. I could go on about some of the things I did there, but the most important parts of my life in Cairo were the people I met who taught me how to live and love with patience and appreciation for God’s gifts. Landlords, doormen, corner store owners, roommates, classmates, professors, coworkers, supervisors, church members… At a discussion on social justice in New York City, Pastor Dr. Tim Keller said that if you’re a Christian, you have to love cities because cities are full of humanity. The best personal introduction I can give is to express that I want my life to be defined not by things or accomplishments, but by relationships.
With all of its own hardships, my life in Cairo was the best three years of my life (so far). Graduation was a bittersweet time. That one piece of paper was supposed to represent my independence, a more secure future and a pat on the shoulder for all my hard work. But all the tears I cried in the airport as I bid farewell to my best friend couldn’t erase the heartache of leaving a life behind. At the same time, I could only live with a foot on each continent for so long and grad school was waiting in Manhattan. I put down roots as fast as I could when I moved to New York. During my first few months, people checked in on me to see how I was handling big city life. I would laugh because New York City actually has less than half the population of Cairo and doesn’t seem nearly as polluted or congested. It was a convenient city by comparison, other than the anxiety that comes with graduate thesis research. Not to mention that during my last semester, we were all glued to our computers watching our friends in Tahrir Square and praying they wouldn’t be among the injured or dead of Egypt’s revolution. During this time, I also worked as a Program & Fiscal Assistant at my department and interned at The Christian Embassy to the United Nations.
It was through my graduate department that I had received a fellowship to study Arabic during the previous summer, and I had decided to go back to Jerusalem. (I went on a short touristic trip before with Liberty University.) This time was different, to say the least. I decided to just fly in a few days before class and find an apartment on Craigslist. I rented from a local in an apartment in the middle of the night-life on Yaffa Street, where I could walk into the Old City every day for class. In August, I returned to Manhattan for my last year of graduate school. It was easier to leave Manhattan than Cairo—maybe because it was a short bus-ride away in the same time zone, or it was a relief to finally finish my thesis. It was after I moved back to my home state of Maryland that I became familiar with SAT-7.
I have been blogging since I first moved overseas in 2006. When I initially learned of SAT-7, I was astounded by the creative way that it brings people together using media technology. SAT-7’s work gives the Church a voice in recent developments using technology that aids in globalization, and I’m excited about being part of new conversations about God’s presence in the Middle East and North Africa.